Press: About a year after the revolution, 50-55 thousand state workers will become unemployed

VERELQ presents the most notable publications of the Armenian press.

“time” the newspaper writes. “As a result of the structural reforms of the government – reduction of ministries, closing of public transport and non-governmental organizations, reduction of unnecessary teachers, approximately 50-55 thousand state workers may become unemployed. It is not known what they will do after losing their state jobs. The only visible job at the moment continues to be a taxi driver, to whom the government has given tax benefits.”

“Publication” the newspaper writes. “The RPA has decided to withdraw for the time being, not to participate in debates and discussions, to speak only when absolutely necessary, so that the newcomers, who are hardly familiar with the alphabet of politics, appear to be “full-fledged”. RPA does not exclude that Serzh Sargsyan will go to “retirement” without stopping to count and arrange the chessboard in the future. And how will the party survive? “I think the problem is there, but not very acute. Vigen is busy with “Luys” Foundation, Arpinen, Sharmazanov they lecture Vahram Baghdasaryan will also find a place in the educational system, Davit Harutyunyanfounded a law firm, Ashotyan will deal with the affairs of the party. The party currently has quite a lot of real estate – more than 70 offices, most of which are in Yerevan. In the end, they can rent a part of the premises of these offices, cover the expenses of the party,” said our interlocutor. By the way, the RPA Kentron community office, which is located in Buzand 1/2, a building belonging to Yerevan Municipality, has a contract until 2027. Meanwhile Taron Margaryan He signed contracts with news organizations located in this building for only 2 years.”

“Fact” the newspaper writes. “A lot of information was circulated in recent days regarding the possible increase of the gas price. The official reactions are extremely fragmented, in principle, one can say, they are absent. According to the reliable information we have, on behalf of the Prime Minister, officials of the Ministry of Energy, as well as those government officials who are in any way related to the topic, have been strictly instructed not to give interviews on the issue of gas tariffs, to remain silent as much as possible, and only in case of urgent need to officially limit themselves to just one sentence: “negotiations are in progress.” There is a point of view that the authorities themselves do not have a complete idea of ​​what is expected in the near future, that is why they are working to prevent panic on the one hand, and to avoid artificial expectations on the other.”

“time” the newspaper writes. “As part of the government’s structural reforms, the issue of uniting the Ministry of Territorial Management and Development and the Ministry of Emergency Situations is also being discussed. This unification would be really effective, but the authorities do not know who should remain as a minister: Suren Papikyan?, who is one of Prime Minister Pashinyan’s closest circle, or? Felix Tsolakyan, who is considered the most experienced and knowledgeable staff of this government.”

“People” the newspaper writes. “According to the information of “Zhoghovurd” daily newspaper, criminal cases have been initiated in the law enforcement system in connection with embezzlement of diesel fuel. In particular, after the Velvet Revolution, a number of employees of the law enforcement system filed a complaint, claiming that the diesel fuel that was supposed to be given to marzes for business trips, as well as for moving around Yerevan due to official needs, was not actually provided. And now a criminal case has been initiated to find out that the diesel provided by the departments did not serve the purpose. Note that this problem is not new. For years, police officers and investigators have not hidden in private conversations that they have to go on business trips to marzes at their own expense. However, under the previous authorities, many people did not speak out about the problems, did not complain, fearing reprisals.”

“Publication” the newspaper writes. “Former commander of the Armenian authorities and the Artsakh Defense Army Levon Mnatsakanyan one of the victims of the conflict between Karen Sargsyan is Robert Kocharyan head of the bodyguard Grisha Sarkisov the son, who held the position of the head of the Artsakh state emergency service, but had to be relieved of that position, because after the “judgment” of the authorities, Lyova Mnatsakanyan could not be left without a position and was appointed to the State Emergency Service. In Artsakh, they are upset that Karen Sargsyan was deprived of her position “for not breaking up”, although, they say, she was working well. In order not to break his heart, they appointed a representative for the special assignments of the President of the Republic of Artsakh.

 

“Publication” the newspaper writes. “Yesterday, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Araik Harutyunyan he told us that next week the universities will hold meetings of the boards of trustees and will elect a new staff. We were informed that the Heratsi State Medical University, whose board of trustees was formed on November 12, by order of the Prime Minister, will be one of the first to hold a meeting. At the meeting, a chairman must be elected from among the 32 members of the council. We have learned that there are currently 2 candidates for President of the Association for Reproductive Medicine Edik Hambardzumyan and a songwriter, a doctor by profession, the grandson of a famous doctor Shield to Artsrun. The latter’s candidacy is welcomed by the medical circles: he is not a party member, he is not a government official and he is familiar with the university and the field of health care in general. Let’s remind that the former president Արմեն Աշոտյանն was”.

“time” the newspaper writes. “According to “Zhamanak”, the SRC is going to send a special order to restaurants, funeral and wedding halls, warning that if unregistered singers, toastmasters or musicians perform there, the full responsibility will fall on the management of these halls. It turns out that before inviting musicians or toastmasters, restaurants or banquet halls have to check their registration certificates, whether they have tax obligations or not, and only then allow them to perform, otherwise they will be fined. All that remains is for the banks to send a letter and demand that there are no overdue credit obligations among the guests.”

“168 hours” the newspaper writes. Director of “Araratcement”. Sedrak Arustamyan announced that in 2019 From January 1, the cost of releasing 1 ton of cement will be 40,000 AMD instead of the previous 50,000 AMD, including VAT. According to him, this step will have a multiplier effect on Armenia’s economy, “which many economists can definitely prove.” He also emphasized. “Here is the economic revolution Gagik Tsarukyanthe first step.” There are opinions that “Araratcement” simply had to take that step because there is a problem of competition in the market, as a large amount of cement is imported. This year, there were many publications in the press that Armenia, having cement factories, started importing it. The main batch of cement was imported from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Political scientist Styopa Safaryan wrote the following about the above statement on his Facebook page.

“PAP has spread the message that the first step of the economic revolution has been taken… While I thought that I would read about another new major investment, it turned out that Gagik Tsarukyan only stopped the collapse of the cement factory, which was no longer considered profitable and was going bankrupt, refused to make a profit for several years, made some investments in the direction of technical re-equipment, and instructed no one to cut costs, no matter how much the situation forces it… In short: to manage its property and its risks. He has done a good thing, it is impressive, but… As far as I know, this is called crisis management or bankruptcy prevention, but this is an economic revolution. I couldn’t even think about it… Wow, what are you doing, I’ll take your classic pain…”

Economist in conversation with “168.am”. Vahagn Khachatryan said that the price of cement decreased as a result of competition. “It’s not just talking, we have to wait and see what will happen as a result. It is not because of cement that those who want to do construction did not do it until now. So, cement cannot have a big role in that multiplier effect. Of course, it is very good that it is getting cheaper, there is no problem, but in all cases I agree with the opinions that it is a consequence of competition. And there is no need to abuse the economic revolution, because first we need to clarify what is meant by economic revolution, and then we can give evaluations if steps are taken towards it. I don’t see those steps today, except for the fight against corruption, which is more political, but whose impact on the economy is significant.”

Former RA Minister of Economic Development and Investments, economist Artsvik Minasyanin the conversation with us, positively assessed the decrease in the price of cement. According to him, an important step has been taken.

“First, a lot of good things have been done from the point of view of modernization. The issue of cement was also discussed back when we had extremely low-priced imports from Iran, and neither of our two major cement factories could withstand that competition. Therefore, from that point of view, it is necessary for there to be real changes in the components that form the cost, and technological changes are definitely commendable. In addition, it is very important to have a differentiated tariff policy for the same energy carriers in the field of cement production, so that we can have a quality product from the point of view of competition,” said Artsvik Minasyan. According to the former minister, the cheapening of cement is also a good step in the sense that it is a system-building product. “Cement is construction, construction provides new economic growth, that is, this is a good sector from that point of view. Yes, I agree that, if there are no other formulations of the revolution, and at this moment there are still no other formulations, such steps can be considered the first step of the economic revolution.”